The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-12-31
descriptive Artitles.
EURoPE's RICHEST KING.

EUROPE'S RICHEST KING.
Francis Joseph of Austra-The Emperor and
His 5000 Horses-Features of Life IN
Vienna-A Broken Down but Exclusive
ristocracy-AdvaHtages Offered to Medi-
.cal Students-A Nation Devoted to Music.
Mr.. +. A. Richardson. the well-known
Washington correspondent Of the Balti-
.mose Sun, travelled through Europe last
summer. and his letters to the San were
eagerly read. Below we give one from
Vienna, which will be found very interest
ing:
Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria
and King of Hungary, has more royal
titles than any other European potentate.
According to title he is king of seven
other countries or provinces, grand prince
of one, prince or margrave of several
others, and archduke, grand duke and
duke of half-dozen more. He probably
draws a less allowance from the public
treasury than any of his fellow sovereigns
of relatively equal rank, but is accounted
to be the richest monarch of Europe, with
ithe possible exception of Queen Victoria,
who is commonly put down as the most
parsimonious of all rulers, and the extent
of whose boarded accumulations even her
,ywn children have but little idea of. 1t
has not been an infrequent occurrence for
the Austrian Reichstag or Parliament to
refuse Francis Joseph allowances for
which he has asked, on the ground that
he has plenty of money of his own, and he
has been fain to bow to this somewhat
unusual independence with as much grace
as he could command. Although having
u reputation for soldierly and statesman
Ike qualities, the power and prestige OF
Austria has not been advanced much
during his forty years on the throne, and
in the meantime it has parted with several
of its fairest provinces and paid heavy
tribute to its dcspoiling neighbors. 1t is
whispered here that the German alliance
was made not so much from love for that
power as from the consciousness that ii
was the best policy, which, of course, is the
reason which generally lies at the bottom
of all such alliances The tone in Europe
an state and political circles is that Austria
scarcely hopes any more in the future con-
vulsions and upheavals Of war and diplo
macy to do more than maintain its present
status, and in any partition which may
come it will be only too glad to have the
smallest slice thrown at it. There arc
constantly disintegrating elements at work
in this empire which are unknown to the
affairs of any other There are not less
than thirteen different races of people held
in subjection to the Austrian empire and
each of them holds on tenaciously to its
traditions, customs, language or dialect
In the Austrian Parliament they some
times have high old times. The Bobe
mian representatives are quite often the
leaders in the rows that are kicked up
and they are styled the Irish of the Reich
stag. Although he is so rich, the head o.
Francis Joseph must frequently lie uneasy
He is handsome, fine-looking man, witt
a full beard of snowy white, and sits
gracefully and firmly in the saddle, O
which he is very fond All the roya
family are fond of horseback exercises
and the Empress when in England, TIVE
or three years since, was pronounced to b.
the best lady rider in Europe. 1t was he
custom always to accompany the Empero
on his gallops through the great public
parks of Vienna but it is now year o.
more since she has been on the back of i
horse, having been positively interdictec
such exercise by the learned doctor o
Amsterdam who attends her As she i
,1l ch.
should give up such violent exercise a
she made it. visited the stables of tn
Emperor, which, with the courtyards, cove
L don't know how many acres of ground
and saw the spacious inclosure where tn
Empress used to break in fractious steed
before riding them III public. "A privat
dressing room for her especial use is at
taehed with all convenienees, including
mirrors all around for her to admire hel
self In her riding habits, and gallery 70
baad of music, which played while sh
displayed her skill and nerve amid th
plaudits of the select few who were admit
ted to the exhibition. The stables are nc
more finely appointed than several | hay
seen belonging to private gentlemen in tn
United States, but were many times larger
and the stalls are immensely roomy. Th
Emperor owns more than three thousan
horses, distributed through the stables a
tached to his various palaces in town an
country. In the Vienna stables there al
now about 40 horses, attended by 20
stablemen and grooms and guarded by
regiment of infantry. The horses are a
picked and all young. Over each stall
the name and pedigree of the horse and tl
wear in which foalcd, and saw none tn;
were over six When they get past tn;
age they are considered no longerf fit for I'll
Emperor's use, but | could not discovt
whether they are sold or given away. Nevt
less than eight horses are pat to the gre;
coaches on state occasions, nor less than fol-
for the smaller carriages. Toyery few oftf
coaches is theie driver seat, as postillioI
in the most gorgeous aud elaborate liver
are put upon the horses. There are two Sc
of horses particularly, which, if | may
permitted to borrow that favorite feminir
expression, were '.just too lovely for an,
thing. There were twenty milk whit
and twenty coal blacks used for the sta
coaches on grand occasions. The whit
were white as white can be, and the black